Second chances
by Princess of Darkness17
Summary: For DanDani- An AU story, Dom/OC, Dom/Letty. Rated T for mild swearing. Dom is convinced he is in love with a girl named Sarah but the team are not convinced. Day after day the team are left watching from a distance as the girl tears apart the family, while a completely loved up Dom remains oblivious. Can shocking news from a certain person bring Dom back down to earth?


_For Dan Dani-_

_I was asked a long time ago to do an AU story and I just want to say I hadn't forgotten. I've been working on in bits and pieces and this was about as AU as I could get but I hope you like it._

_The heists never happened, Dom didn't go to jail but Mr T did die in an accident. They race at the street races but that's about as far as it goes into the movies._

* * *

_Dom's POV_

It was late at night or early in the morning, depending on which way you looked at it. I had been stiffly lying awake for an hour on my half of the bed and according to the big red numbers on the clock it was three thirty-four in the early hours of the morning. I let out a sigh as I thought of the woman lying beside me, curled up on her side and equally unmoving. If I was lucky she was probably fast asleep, hoping come morning I'd apologize and make up; but not this time. This time something had changed.

I sighed heavily again, shifting slightly as I did so. I spared a glance behind me to Sarah, my girlfriend of six months, and fiancé for an additional three. Glancing at the clock yet again I registered it was almost time to get up and get ready for the day; it was just my luck that I had yet to sleep. Our fight had lasted the entire night, lying here I knew that the few occupants left in the house would no doubt still be awake having heard our screaming match.

Thumping my pillow once trying to get comfy with what little space I had, I felt Sarah shift and I stilled immediately. If she was asleep I didn't want to wake her and start fighting all over again; I was too drained for another round this soon.

"Dom? You awake?" Her quiet voice asked me shattering all my hopes of being able to make a getaway without her knowing. I thought about ignoring it, play pretend, but I knew that it would just make it worse and she would know I was faking.

"Yeah." I muttered letting her know I was still angry. I waited a few beats but nothing else was said so I huffed letting my thoughts drift back to when we had first met.

She'd been not long out of high school and new to the party/ race scene. We'd met one night at a party I had held after the races, she'd been with a friend looking a little out of place but she immediately caught my attention. We got to talking that night and I was even more drawn to her by the time the party was over. Initially the age difference was big deal to me given she was four years younger than me; the exact same age as Mia and Letty. I'd tried to stay away but temptation and a feeling I hadn't ever felt before drove me towards her. To my surprise she felt the same way so we started dating nearly immediately. It had shocked everyone because I wasn't known as the dating type of guy but something about Sarah had pulled me in and I was hooked. It had started off great; sure we'd had a few hiccups but nothing really major. We had the usual few people tell us it wasn't going to last. Day to day I had people tell me I wouldn't be able to keep off other skirts and it would only be a matter of time. The honest truth though was with her in front of me I wasn't interested in anyone else.

We didn't have a lot of spare time; with me running to businesses and her at university studying, but when time was spare we spent every moment we could together. She was smart, beautiful and though she didn't know her way around an engine or hold any interest in cars, I wasn't fazed. She was perfect and in such a short time, which consisted of a few weeks, I had fallen hard and fast for her.

After three months together, though I knew it was early days, I knew I was completely sure she was the one. No one was going to tell me any differently, so I decided to try my luck and ask her to move in. To me it was so simple; she spent most of her nights with me at the house and she already had belongings that she left in my room. So to me it made complete and utter sense for me to ask her to move in with me permanently. At the time I didn't think the others would mind, I mean I knew they weren't exactly fond of her but I put that down to not knowing her well enough yet. With my mind made up and the fact that it was my house, I dropped the news on them one night over dinner.

* * *

_Flashback-_

_"Excuse me?" Vince had asked as the table suddenly went quiet after my announcement. It was just the family- Leon, Vince, Jesse, Mia and Letty. Sarah had a late class and I had decided that it was the perfect time to let them all know the good news. I frowned at Vince's reaction and looked around the rest of the table. Jesse and Leon were both looking at me like I had suddenly grown and extra head or a tail. Mia looked like she had eaten something sour by the way her face was twisted up. Vince was almost red with anger and Letty was silent as she pushed her plate away._

_"I said I asked Sarah to move in, I figured you guys wouldn't mind." I repeated confused as to their reactions. I hadn't expected much but this wasn't what I had expected._

_"Are you serious?" Letty asked quietly._

_"Yeah, of course I am." I spoke forgetting about my food as I looked around the table._

_"Then you're insane, absolutely insane. Has going out with her suddenly made you lose all brain cells? Of course we have a fucking problem with it Dom." Vince swore as he slammed his fist on the table._

_"Her name is Sarah for starters, second is why? Why do you have a problem?" I demanded._

_"You've been dating her three months Dom. THREE months, not three fucking years. You barely know the chick and now you're asking her to move in?" Vince argued with me and I glared._

_"I know just about everything there is to know about Sarah and she knows nearly everything about me. I can't see the problem, I mean you all seem to like her enough, you just need to get to know her a bit better."_

_"Like her? Dom you're delusional. We can't stand her, why would we want to get to know her?" Mia cried and I turned my glare to her._

_"Since when?" I demanded._

_"Since always Dom. We've never liked her; we've put up with her hoping you'd finally come to your senses and dump the stupid bitch." Leon spat._

_"Don't call her that." I defended angrily._

_"Open your fucking eyes Dominic. She's stuck up, snobby and downright rude." Mia yelled while someone muttered in agreement._

_"She is not Mia." I defended again._

_"Yeah man she is." Leon argued backing Mia up._

_"Name one rude or snobby thing she's done." I demanded getting ready to blow their accusations out of the water._

_"Okay what about last Thursday for example. I was in the kitchen making dinner and I told her politely what we were having, which was mum's meatballs, and she told me she wouldn't eat it. I asked her why and you know what she said? She said it was because I had stuck too much sauce in. Asked me to make her something else, something healthier. If that's not snobby Dom I don't know what is." Mia snapped at me as I huffed at her._

_"She's just being healthy, there's nothing wrong with that Mia. Honestly the meatballs were a little too saucy." I said shrugging like it was no big deal before I noted that the table had gone deathly quiet once more._

_"Excuse me?" Mia ground out. I looked at her uneasily before eyeing up the others._

_"I'm just saying, they were a little." I spoke again._

_"You seemed to have no problem fitting in two helpings." She snapped._

_"Mia I didn't say it tasted bad. I said it was a tad bit saucy, you're being dramatic over nothing." I snapped back._

_"Dramatic? Well how's this for dramatic Dominic, next time you can make it yourself. And to be even more dramatic for you from now on since you obviously have opinions about the way I cook, you can make your own meals from now on. That goes for her too. From now on I'm only cooking for the ones in the house that like my cooking." She hissed before she stood and stormed out. Letty glanced at me for the first time since my news as she stood without a word following Mia out of the room. I heard her briefly call Mia's name as she hit the stairs but everything after that was silent._

_"See you can't even see it. You're too fucking blind to see what she's doing to you, what she's turning you into." Vince muttered as he too stood and left the table, Leon and Jesse following only minutes later to escape the tension in the room._

* * *

I smiled almost fondly as I remembered that fight. Mia being Mia had been true to her word making me make my own meals for an entire week while I sulked. Eventually though I sucked up my pride and apologized, there were only so many times you could stand having toasted sandwiches or cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After I apologized to her I thought that would be the end of it but I had been mistaken.

Once I had apologized to Mia Sarah had moved in, looking back now I almost wondered if that was the reason our relationship was what it was now. I suspected it probably hadn't helped.

* * *

_"V please. I'm not asking for much and you know I would do it for you." I begged with him one night after dinner. I had cornered him in the kitchen away from the others, hoping to get at least one person on my side before I confronted the rest._

_"The answers no. You know where I stand about the situation, in fact you know where we all stand and yet that doesn't seem to matter to you." He spoke as I looked pleadingly at him._

_"Vince come on. You guys just have to give her a chance and get to know her and everything will be fine."_

_"As I said a week ago you're insane." He said before he left the room. I sighed running a hand over my head._

_"Don't bother asking me." Mia snapped as she walked into the room not a second later. I let my shoulders drop in defeat. She had obviously heard my conversation with Vince and she was making it perfectly clear that she was on the same side as Vince._

_"Mia come on. Please?" I begged._

_"Please what?" Leon asked as the kitchen suddenly filled with him, Jesse and Letty. Vince just leaned against the door frame shaking his head at me._

_"I need some help moving Sarah in tomorrow. Can you guys help me?" Leon scoffed at my words and left the room almost immediately and I took that as being a no._

_"Jess?"_

_"Sorry man." He said grabbing a beer before leaving the room after Leon. I glared angrily at everyone left until my eyes fell on the last person I had yet to ask. She was quietly helping Mia wash up and hadn't said a word all night from what I could recall._

_"Let?" I asked softly. She sent me a quick glance before turning away from me again. Seeing the look on her face I immediately felt guilty for asking her. The look that passed her face made me take the few steps that were between us and turn her to look at me. I noted that Mia and Vince suddenly left the room and I looked at her questioningly._

_"I can't." She whispered._

_"...Okay." I whispered not angry at her answer just worried._

_"What's going on?" I asked quietly._

_"Nothing."_

_"Don't bullshit me. I know you better than that."_

_"Do you?' She asked suddenly which made me frown. She sighed and shook her head._

_"Forget it. I can't help you Dom, I'm sorry." She spoke before removing herself from my grip as she left the room._

* * *

With Sarah's new presence in the house, my relationship with everyone was on rocky. Mia's and mine however had taken a nose dive for the worst. It was tense and strained, almost to the point where she couldn't stand to be in the same room as me alone. It was even worse if Sarah was in the room alone with her. To put it lightly we barely spoke, even now months down the track. I had tried to mend our relationship but Mia went out of her way to avoid me most days. In the space of a month after our fight I noted she spent more time with the boys then she ever had before. If she had a problem she went straight to Vince, if she needed something she'd seek out Leon and if she needed someone to talk to she'd go to Jesse. I couldn't lie and say it hadn't hurt, or still did, but Sarah had reassured me that it'd be okay. She'd so easily convinced me that it was just a sibling thing and to not worry about it. Shaking my head at myself I couldn't believe I had let it go.

Looking back over the past nine months in my mind, searching for the signs Vince and Mia had tried to make me see at the time, I began to realize they had been right. Sarah had been changing me little by little and I had stopped seeing sense when I was around her. It made me wish I had of listened before now. Slowly I sifted through scenarios and the more I found the more I hated myself for what I had become. I realized it had only been little things in the beginning, and then she had moved in. Things had taken a bigger turn after that. She had me dressing slightly different, like no more walking around in grease stained clothes. She had told me almost as soon as she had moved in that she hated that and insisted I go out and buy some nice clothes. Wanting to impress her I asked her to help me out, so together we went shopping and bought almost an entire new wardrobe. She had taken all my old clothing and bagged it to throw away but not wanting to part with the stuff completely I stuffed it up in the attic. Maybe that should have been a sign, the smarter side of me telling me I was in trouble.

That wasn't the only thing she changed though. Once she moved in she had complained about the amount of time I spent at the races and parties. I knew she wasn't into the scene and I respected that, so when I went she stayed at home, sometimes with Mia if she was studying but most of the time on her own. She had pleaded with me to cut down and spend some time with and her friends. Completely 'in love' I agreed and cut down from three races a week to two. I tried to cut down on parties as well, only going to those on the nights I raced and not staying out until the early hours of the morning like I would have before.

Looking back I remembered the struggle I had gone through. Races had been my life and to have one entire night on the weekend free while everyone else went to the races had been maddening. Eventually I had said to Sarah I couldn't do it, I was going mad at home on Saturday nights while everyone else raced. She hadn't been pleased to say the least when I told her I was going back to racing three nights. In fact from memory it had ended in a fight. We didn't speak for a week and she even went as far as to stay with a friend. I thought that had been the end of us. After the week had been up though she returned, calm after our fight and we talked.

* * *

_"I did a lot of thinking while I was away." She spoke as we sat on our bed. She'd arrived an hour ago and we had been sitting in silence until now, neither of us sure where to start. I said nothing letting her start the conversation off._

_"You said you can't sit at home and do nothing while everyone else if off racing but I don't want you racing every night of the weekend so I got to thinking. We haven't really spent a lot of time together, not proper time anyway so why don't we make Saturday nights our date night. We can go out and have fun together."_

_"I can try." I spoke honestly. I watched as she sighed and shook her head._

_"Dom I need you to do more than just try. I need you to make it happen or this isn't going to work."_

* * *

I shook my head as I thought back to those words. The panic that had filled me that day had been more than enough for me to agree to anything. Looking back I realized she had played with my emotions to get her own way. Dates nights were great but I had to hide just much I was struggling in the beginning. I had to admit, even now, as the time had passed it had gotten easier to let the Saturday night racing go. It had made me appreciate Friday and Sunday racing that much more.

That fight had just been the beginning though. The next one came just a month after Sarah had moved in. Sarah had been at a late class and I had rounded on everyone after dinner about their behavior towards her. They had been less the welcoming and as time passed they went out of their way to avoid her or make her feel unwelcome in the house.

I had noticed it but I had left it hoping it would sort itself out. It didn't though and one night after work I was confronted with an upset Sarah in tears over some comment Vince had said to her. Needless to say I had seen red. The confrontation had led to a full blown violent punching fight against Vince. Letty and Leon had been left to separate us. Once there was distance between us Vince had stormed off cursing me, while I had stood heavily breathing in the kitchen glaring at the spot he had just been. I remembered spending hours in the garage out the back of the house, not trusting myself to drive.

* * *

"_Dom maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Sarah had said to me after a few minutes of silence. She had found me sitting in the back shed not long after she had gotten home from class. I had no doubt she had heard what had happened and gotten the blame for it._

_"No. You're a part of this family now and they'll just have to deal with it." I muttered angrily._

_"Really Dom, I don't think I should be here. I don't want to cause problems."_

_"You're not, they are. You're staying." I said firmly watching her crack a smile before she laughed a little at my firm tone. I managed to smile a little myself as I realized how possessive I sounded._

_"Sorry, I mean I want you to stay." I said softly as I took her face in my hands._

_"Then I'm not going anywhere." She promised as she leant forward kissing my lips softly._

* * *

Annoyed with the silence and my thoughts I got up from the bed, pulling on my clothes as I walked around the room. I heard Sarah move around on the bed behind me as I pulled my shoes on. Sending a glance to the bed I saw her sitting up watching me silently. The street lamp from the street let me see enough of her face which was tear-streaked but for the first time since we started dating I didn't care.

"Dom." She pleaded quietly.

"I can't do this anymore. You're not the person I thought you were." I spoke calmly. Having been up all night thinking and replaying everything in my head I had made my decision.

"Dom I'm sorry…"

"Don't! Don't say you're sorry because we both know that's a lie. We're over Sarah. Take the day to pack your bags and don't be here when I get back tonight. We're done." I said shortly as I left the room not waiting to hear her response.

I tried to be silent as I walked through the house gathering my keys from the kitchen counter. Opening the front door I had to restrain myself from slamming it closed behind me. Walking down the front steps and towards my car I didn't even turn when I heard something smash upstairs. Instead I got into my car slamming it into reverse, flooring it out of the driveway and continued down the street.

I slowed as I neared the garage, my anger now faded as the reality started setting in. I wasn't regretting my decision about Sarah; in fact it was quite the opposite. I felt lighter then I had in nine months and I let out a long breath of relief.

I eased my car into the parking lot of the garage and was surprised to see five familiar cars all lined up in a row. Cutting my engine once my car was lined up alongside them I leaned back in my seat and took in the cars. Each one was different and represented its driver perfectly. I remembered every long hour of wrench time I had poured into each one of the cars. Every emotion I had felt when I watched each one of the cars blur past the finish line at the races in first place for the first time.

The memories took me back to a fairly recent, yet still raw, event. It didn't matter how much I had tried to forget, Vince's words still played over and over again in my head. It was not long after the first fight. It had been a long day at the garage, Vince and I hadn't spoken for a week so the air was tense. I remembered the look of determination he had on his face as he approached me. Immediately I knew something was big was coming and my gut feeling was telling me I wasn't going to like it.

* * *

_"Come to have another shot at me?" I asked bitterly as he stopped beside me. He said nothing so I turned to look at him and saw the hurt, sadness but most of all determination that was playing on his face. Immediately I knew he had something to tell me and the heavy feeling that washed over me said I wasn't going to like it._

_"I'm moving out Dom." I froze and put down the wrench I had in my hand._

_"Don't be stupid." I muttered annoyed as I turned away._

_"I'm not. I set it up a week ago, I move in tomorrow."_

_"Well you can unset it up cos you ain't leaving." I swore as I stood up straight and turned back to him._

_"That's not your call to make, its mine and I've made it. Dom, man you've been my best friend since the third grade but this-" He said gesturing to me._

_"This ain't that person. I can't live at the house anymore, not with you and especially not with her. I'm sorry but I have to move out. I value our friendship too much to let it go down the path it is now. Everything will still be the same but I just won't be living at the house." He said firmly._

_"What the fuck Vince?" I demanded angrily. I could hear the clinking of tools around the room stop and I knew everyone was suddenly looking at us._

_"Just accept it and move on Dom." He said tiredly as he went to move away but I grabbed him turning him back around to face me._

_"Accept it? There's no fucking way I'm just going to accept it. You're the insane one to think I would. If you'd just give her a chance you wouldn't have to move out." I argued._

_"Give her a chance? Dom have you fucking opened your eyes and seen what she is actually like since you started dating her? She's destroying our family Dom and you're letting her."_

_"Don't speak about her that way." I spat as he glared at me._

_"Whatever. I'm done Dom; I'm done with the fighting." He said walking away._

_"Fine, you know what leave. You'll be back." I swore as he left the garage for the day._

_I looked around the room and saw the boys staring at me silently._

_"What? You guys gunna throw that shit in my face too?" I yelled._

_"He's right you know." Leon said softly._

_"Oh give me a break Leon, you think the same then you're more than welcome to leave too." I snapped. I watched as he glared at me but my concentration was broken when a small voice spoke up._

_"I'm gunna finish up for the day, go find Vince." Letty said quietly as she left. I softened at her words. There was something still going on with Letty. I had been noticing it even more lately. She was so quiet sometimes I nearly missed her but it was a tell-tale sign something was wrong._

* * *

I ran my hands over my face sighing as I collapsed right back into my seat. The week that passed after Vince moved out had stirred something up. No one was speaking to me and Sarah was being treated even worse. At the time I had thought once the week was up he'd be back but he never did come back to live. He really had meant what he had said and it had made me so angry. With our relationship already strained, his leaving had made it worse. Our relationship had been left in tatters and at the time I hadn't known what to do to fix it.

The three months that followed had passed by quickly despite the fact that our family was falling apart. I hadn't been able to concentrate, I'd been stressed and I had spent every ounce of energy I had trying to mend things. My breaking point had been when I lost my first race at the races. I had never lost a race and to make things worse I had lost to a newbie. I hadn't taken the loss well and when the second loss hit I knew I had to do something. That something had been following Sarah's advice about skipping more races. At the time she had had a great point, I just needed time to get my head together. So I had cut down to one a week, every Friday, because I was losing so badly and a lot of money along with it. It was strange at first but as more time passed the easier it got. Saturday date nights had also turned into Sunday double dates with her and two of her friends. It was kind of nice hanging with people not in the race scene but I never admitted to myself at the time that we had little in common.

Towards the end of three months I had found myself thinking more long term with Sarah. She was still perfect to me and I felt like I was ready for more of a commitment. Looking back I realized I was such an idiot. If I could have gone back in time I would have punched myself in the face, hoping to knock some sense into my past self. Sarah was four years younger but I was so confident that she felt the same way. I thought I had been ready to settle down so with my mind made up I decided I was going to ask her to marry me. Mia had been the first person I told, and looking back I don't know why I was so surprised about her reaction. Back then I thought her flipping out about Sarah moving in had been bad but it was nothing compared to her finding out I was going to ask her to marry me.

* * *

_"Are you fucking insane? You'd known this girl for five minutes when she moved in; now after knowing her for ten you're ready to marry her? Fucking Delusional. I should take you to see a doctor." She yelled._

_"Mia, she's a great girl. I love her and she's the one I want." I argued._

_"Love her? Dom you barely know her." She scoffed as she finished cleaning the counter._

_"Mia please, be reasonable."_

_"Reasonable? The answers no Dominic, I won't stand here and allow it."_

_"Mia I'm not asking for your permission." I ground out._

_"Good because you are never going to get it and she will NEVER be family. If you thought for one second about giving her mum's ring then you better think twice. I'll rip it off her fucking finger you hear me?" She cried out._

_"Fuck Mia why can't you just give her a chance?" I screamed at her as she looked furious._

_"If you were to open your eyes and saw what we saw on a day to day basis you wouldn't be asking me that question. I don't even recognize you Dom; she's turned you into what she wants you to be. You're no brother of mine." She whispered before leaving the room in tears. Her words were like a punch in the gut as I slumped against the fridge._

_A movement from the other side of the room caught my eye and I turned my head. Letty was standing at the door looking between me and where Mia had run of to. As she turned back to me she looked embarrassed about being caught over hearing but I just gave her a small smile letting her know it was okay._

_"Suppose you feel the same?" I asked quietly._

_"It hasn't mattered what we thought so far, why should it matter to you now?" She said softly. I frowned knowing she was partly right. I looked her over, really looked her over, for what seemed like the first time. She'd changed, grown up so suddenly, at least to me. She really looked beautiful. I noted how her shirt seemed baggier then the last time I had seen her wear it and I frowned. I wish that she would tell me what was going on with her._

_"I wanna know Let." I whispered to her._

_"I think you're making a mistake-"I sighed heavily and she stopped speaking turning away from me._

_"No continue, I asked for it." I spoke quietly._

_"I think you're making a mistake, but you're Dominic Toretto and you're going to do whatever you want, when you want." She finished and I stayed silent for a beat letting her words sink in._

_"Geez Let you make me sound like a monster." I muttered._

_"Just stubborn. I won't lie and say I like her Dom, because truth is I don't; but if you want help... I'll help you." She finished in a whisper. I nearly told her not to worry about it when I detected sadness in her tone but it also peaked my interest. Maybe a day alone with Letty would help her open up to me._

_"Thanks Let, it means a lot. It'll also give us a chance to spend some time together, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."_

_"You haven't." She said and I was a little shocked at her bitter tone but she quickly cleared her throat._

_"The boys and I are heading to the races tonight; maybe you should consider coming back." She said and I thought it through._

_"I might take you up on that." I smiled and she gave me a half one back._

* * *

Letty's offer had surprised me but I had selfishly taken her up on it. Wanting to know what was going on with her I asked to go that day to start looking and she reluctantly agreed. Thinking back on the day I realized exactly how much Letty had changed. She had become so quiet and withdrawn; she was almost a shell of what she had been. Nothing like the person I had grown up with, the tough girl who I used to get so much grief from when it came to how she dressed at the races was suddenly gone. It had me worried then and still would until I found out what was going on. I had missed something along the way while I was too involved in myself and I felt awful. In the last few hours I realized I hadn't been a very good friend or a brother. Now with Sarah out of the picture I vowed that was going to change.

* * *

_"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as I stopped her from walking. We had been to about three ring shops and had yet to find one I liked._

_"I'm fine."_

_"No you're not. I know you better than that." She said nothing at first and for a moment I thought she was going to open up. My hopes fell though as I saw her shake her head._

_"Dom really, I'm fine. It's just been a rough time for me lately." Her small confession peaked my interest and I hoped she would continue but she didn't so I resorted to prompts._

_"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked softly._

_"Thanks but no. Maybe this shop has a ring." She said deflecting my questioning. I sighed but nodded allowing her to lead me into the next shop but I knew something was really wrong so I vowed to keep an eye on it._

* * *

'How right I had been.' I thought sadly as I looked back over Letty's behavior. I did end up finding a ring in that store but I waited and proposed to Sarah on our six month anniversary and to my delight she had said yes. For the first week we had been on cloud nine and it had been perfect. With my mood lifted I had managed to find a way to split my time between her and family a little more successfully. I had gone back to the races twice a week and winning became a regular occurrence once again.

I had been on a high and as far as I had been concerned nothing was going to bring me down. I had been happy again, hanging with Vince and the boys, our relationship having been slightly mended. I knew they still weren't keen on Sarah but seeing as nothing was being said anymore I had hoped everyone was finally going to give her a chance. But even I knew back then that all highs came with lows. The first having been Letty. She was the only one that hadn't improved; in fact I think she'd gotten worse. The first time I noted her skipping out on meals was when I confronted Vince, Leon and Jesse, but they refused to speak to me about it. All they had said was that they had it handled. It had done nothing to calm my nerves; in fact it had done the exact opposite. I worried more because I had known my suspicions had been right.

The second low had been three weeks after being engaged. I had been on my way out to the races when Sarah had suddenly snapped. I had been shocked at the time to say the least, now looking back though I wasn't surprised. Sarah had suddenly turned from the sweet person I knew into someone I hardly recognized. She turned from sweet and loving to possessive and clingy in the blink of an eye. She'd flipped when I said I had been on my way to the races though I had been going for three weeks and not a word had been said. We'd fought for an hour, to the point where I had gotten so angry I had walked out and sped off to the races. When I had gotten home the next morning, on a high having won yet again and slightly drunk, I had realized it was the worst thing I could have done. My day was about to start off on a bad note and I hadn't even slept yet.

I closed my eyes and shook my head as I thought back to her possessive behavior. It was no lie to say it had gotten worse as the days had passed. Whenever I had tried to have a day to hang with Vince, Jesse and Leon she'd flip out. I went to the races, she threw fits. I realized I had spent weeks making it up to her believing I had been in the wrong. There was one day that really stuck out to me though and it should really have been a loud warning bell that something was seriously wrong.

It had been an hour after we'd made up yet again that I had mentioned I was going to spend time with Letty. Sarah had been so enraged that she'd thrown a lamp at my head and screamed the house down. Looking back I couldn't believe what I had seen. To me now it was like the minute the ring had hit her finger she had turned nasty against everyone, especially Letty. Mia hadn't stood for it and fought back but Letty would never say a word, she simply stayed silent or walked off whenever Sarah threw her a nasty comment. To say I had been confused was an understatement, but I found myself fighting back for Letty. I think it had come as a shock to everyone but I hadn't thought twice about it at the time. I had tried so hard to work things out but it had led to Sarah and I fighting on a daily basis. The fights always started about little things but the longer we fought everything seemed to come back to Letty. It had driven Sarah insane over the fact that I had taken Letty's side but hell she hadn't given me much of a choice. She was being a real bitch.

The more Sarah and I fought, the more time I had spent away from her and used the time to spend with Letty. I had spent more time at the races; I had spent more time with Vince, Leon and Jesse. But it had all come to a stop when Leon and Jesse hit me with a blow- they were moving out. This time though I understood and I held no bad feelings towards them. I simply offered them both an apology and we moved on.

Then nearly straight after another blow came on the same night. I had entered the room I shared with Sarah after being out with Letty; we'd gone for a drive/walk and talked things through for most of the afternoon. Even at the time I had known it was wrong but I had found myself running to Letty when Sarah and I had fights. She would talk it through with me or let me vent and in return I had tried to help her out too but Letty rarely spoke of what was troubling her. In fact I had noticed she had lost even more weight, looking tired and stressed then before. Sarah's words that night had shocked me to the core and I had realized her behavior might have been slightly justified. Looking back on it now though I scoffed. She had been a jealous bitch and because of her I had pushed Letty away when she had needed me the most.

* * *

_"Are you cheating on me with Letty?" She asked me as I got changed for bed. I paused frozen, midway in pulling my shirt over my head. I quickly pulled it off spinning to look at as she sat on the bed._

_"What? Why the hell would you ask me that?" I said surprised and slightly angry._

_"Because that's what it looks like, you're always with her." She spat. I took a moment to look over my actions from the past few months and I could see where she was coming from._

_"Sarah you are the only one I want. I'm not cheating on you, especially with Letty."_

_"Then stop spending so much time with her. We have a wedding to organize and all you seem to want to do is spend time with… HER."_

_"Is that why you've been so nasty to everyone?"_

_"Dom, I am the only one planning our wedding. No one else will help." She cried. My heart ached a little hearing her words. She was right, like always._

_"I'm sorry… you're right I should be helping."_

* * *

I groaned and thumped my hands down on the steering wheel as I thought back to how blankly Letty had taken the news of me stopping so much contact with her. She hadn't even said a word or shown an emotion, just nodded her head and gone back to work. I had been hurt by her reaction but I knew I had had no right to be, if anything it was Letty that should have been upset. And I had no doubt she had been and still was. Especially after the eye opening conversation tonight. At the time though I had had to choose and my relationship with Sarah had mattered more. So putting some distance between Letty and I back then had been needed. So I had done it. And it hurt like hell.

Even though I had cut almost all contact with Letty, Sarah and I still managed to fight. I had put it down to university along with the wedding planning getting her stressed and she had agreed with me. Knowing that piece of information I had made an extra effort to help out more with the plans but things still hadn't changed. Our fights had turned into something else. The air around us was laced with tension, the worst it had ever been.

I stared at the purple car that was parked next to mine. Last night's conversation earlier conversation with Letty still burning in my mind and I was honestly beginning to doubt it would ever leave. She might as well have slapped me in the face, it would have hurt less.

* * *

_"Dom, can we talk for a minute?" I looked up hearing a quiet voice speak. Smiling softly at Letty I nodded._

_"What's up?" She looked nervous as she turned away from me for a moment and I got a heavy feeling in my stomach. I had felt this too many times and it was almost a sign of what was to come._

_"Let?" I asked nervously._

_"I'm moving out." She was so quiet I didn't think I heard her right so I frowned and stood up walking closer to her._

_"What did you say? I think I heard you wrong. I thought you said you were moving out." I spoke and she ducked her head and nodded._

_"I did." She whispered as she looked back at me. The words hurt like one of her right hooks and I stumbled back a bit as I tried to process it._

_"No you're not." I whispered shaking my head from side to side in disbelief._

_"Dom don't fight me on this please. I have to. I can't stay here, you two are always fighting and I know it's about me. I don't want to cause any more problems." She begged and I shook my head firmly._

_"No."_

_"Dom." She pleaded but again I shook my head._

_"No. Letty you're not moving, you're staying here where you belong." I spoke firmly but she shook her head._

_"But Dom I don't belong, not anymore. I haven't for a long time." She whispered and I reached out for her quickly, pulling her towards me._

_"Don't you dare say that. That's not true. Please don't go, I'll do whatever you want me to do, just don't go." I begged as I held her face in my hands._

_"There's nothing you can do to make me stay." She whispered. I could feel the tears behind my eyes and looking into hers I could see she was trying to hold it together._

_"I'm sorry." she whispered as she pulled away from me and walked away. I swallowed the large lump in my throat as I watched her disappear up the stairs, hearing her door close behind her. I followed her path upstairs but to my room in a daze. I had to come up with a way to change her mind, she couldn't leave. I wasn't going to let it happen._

_I shut the door to my room quietly, barely noticing Sarah in it as I turned to sit on the bed. I was so lost in my thoughts that I wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying. Then I heard Letty's name being mentioned and I zoned in._

_"What?" I asked confused._

_"I said I've been doing a lot of thinking. I've decided that you need to ask Letty to move out." My head whipped around to face her. She seemed a little taken aback by my reaction but shrunk back slightly as I stared furiously at her._

_"Excuse me?" I asked deathly quiet._

_"Oh come on Dom, don't be so shocked. Leon, Vince and Jesse moved out and look how much room we have now? With Letty gone it'll get even better." She smiled._

_"She's not going anywhere, how dare you even suggest it." I yelled. She whipped around to glare back at me but I didn't budge I wasn't going to back down on this one. This was one fight she wasn't going to win._

_"Dominic we're getting married in four months and look at us. We're always fighting and you know why? Because of her. She's trying to become between us and you keep letting her. She needs to go and if you don't do it I will. Once we marry the house becomes mine too and we need the room. Its bad enough I have to come back as a married woman and share the house with your sister but I draw the line with her. How can we raise a family with her here?"_

_"A family? Marriage is one thing but I have no interest in starting a family anytime soon. She stays and she will continue to do so as long as she wishes to." I yelled._

* * *

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I thought about her harsh words. All the names she had called Letty, not to mention all the accusations she had thrown around. Standing in front of her last night I suddenly saw what everyone else had been seeing for months. I was ashamed at what I had become. Putting a girl ahead of family, what kind of man does that?

There was only one thing in Sarah's words that had made me stop and realize she was right. I was fighting for Letty to stay but I hadn't for anyone else. Why? Deep down I knew the reason, one that had unconsciously been in the back of my mind for months. I loved Letty.

Sighing I opened my eyes and got out of my car, shutting the door softly behind me. As I got closer to the garage door I could hear mumbled voices. Leaning on the door frame I looked inside and smiled slightly at what I saw. Everyone was there, Mia included. The air was serious and slightly tense as everyone stood around a car. Letty was the one my eyes settled on though. She was sitting next to Jesse; everyone was speaking in quiet tones about the most recent fight. I continued leaning against the door frame just watching her. Vince was standing behind her with one arm around her, the other rubbing her arm obviously comforting her.

"I think I better move in tomorrow. Make it easier for Dom." She whispered.

"I can't believe the things he said to her." Mia said softly.

"Yeah, he must have been pissed as hell." Vince agreed.

"We'll move you in tomorrow Let, after work okay? Then we'll help you get back on track. Cut down some of the stress and get you eating again. "Leon spoke concerned.

"Thanks Le." She whispered and I frowned taking a step forward.

"She's not going anywhere." I said firmly and I watched as all eyes turned my way stunned.

"Dom, don't." Letty said quietly but I shook my head at her.

"No, you're not leaving. Vince, Leon and Jesse you're moving back. Don't make me drag your sorry arses back." I added as I saw Vince go to argue.

"Yeah and how's that going to work?" He asked looking straight at me.

"The wedding's off. She's packing her bags as we speak." I muttered and I was surprised to see their shocked looks.

"Dom wait- It's fine, honestly I'll move. I was planning on it anyway." Letty said but I shook my head.

"No. you guys were right, Sarah's not the person I thought she was. I want you all home and back to the way things used to be." I said hopefully.

"You sure about this?" Vince asked me seriously.

"You think I'd be standing here if I wasn't?"

"What happened man?" Leon asked and I sat down on the other side of Letty.

"Something snapped in me tonight. I was already reeling from Letty's announcement but when she started throwing words around I just lost it. I'm sorry for keeping you both awake but I swear Sarah and I are done." I promised. It felt good to say the words out loud as I smiled at Letty. She looked slightly happier then I had seen her in a long time and I suspected it was now because Sarah was out of the picture. I should have seen the signs before but I hadn't.

"I should have listened to you from the start. These last nine months have been a bit of a nightmare now that I've spent the time and looked back over it." I admitted and they all scoffed at my admission.

"Next time you're convinced you're in love, can you choose a girl that's not psycho?" Vince asked me and I laughed as I eyed Letty a little.

"I'll do my best."

"So what you guys coming home or what?" I asked quietly as I looked at Vince. He was still standing behind Letty, his arm still around her shoulders.

"Man you don't even have to ask twice. We miss Mia's cooking, Leon can't cook for shit." He said laughing.

"Oh please what about your attempt at a roast? Fucking nearly set the house on fire."

"Then it's settled, you guys move back in today. We'll all help; we'll shut the garage for the day. Have a barbeque for dinner, catch up on some sleep?"

"Sleep sounds good." Mia groaned.

"Yeah dude let's leave the moving till tomorrow." Jesse agreed and I shrugged happy that they were coming home at last.

I watched as everyone stood and moved out but Letty stayed seated across from me. I turned to look at her and smiled.

"I'm sorry." I said softly.

"For what?" She asked just as quietly.

"For everything. You changed because of me. I should have seen it but I didn't till it was almost too late. I caused you so much unneeded stress and now you're sick because of me. I'm so sorry for hurting you, putting you in the middle." She said nothing so I simply offered her my hands to take. She looked from me to my hands for a moment before taking them. I helped her stand as I wrapped an arm around her.

"I'll be okay." She spoke softly

"I know you will be. I'm going to make sure you are."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to." I said sincerely as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled a little as she shivered at my touch.

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly.

"Hoping you'll give me a second chance, even though I don't deserve one." I spoke honestly and she looked at me wide eyed.

"I need to get my head sorted." She said eventually and I felt my hopes drop a little.

"Yeah I know. I'm willing to help in whatever way I can." I said a little put out.

"Dom, it's not a no. It's just not now." She spoke softly.

"Okay, I get it. You don't wanna get hurt again, and we both have things to sort out. If its gunna take a couple of months or longer for things to be okay again between us, then I'll wait." I said seriously.

"Thank you." She whispered but I shook my head.

"I should be thanking you. You helped me realize." I said smiling as I ran a thumb over her cheek. Her eyes turned wary but I shook my head.

"Does a hug over step the mark?" I asked.

"No, I could use one of those."

* * *

_NEW AN! Possibly looking at doing a second part to this now, if I have enough people still interested?_

_R&R_

_Princess of Darkness17_


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